CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Alliance Annual Conference

Our Alliance for Rights and Recovery is extremely pleased to invite proposals for our 44th Annual Conference, “Our Movement, Our Moment”, to be held September 23-25 at our new location at the Albany Marriot. We’ve created a newer, more accessible and modern environment because our movement is evolving—and the spaces where we gather must evolve with it.

At the same time, we will bring the same unmatched sense of power, purpose, discovery, healing, spirit, solidarity, and celebration that has made our widely acclaimed conference a beloved annual tradition across our state and nation for more than four decades.

Your presentation will uplift and inform recovery and rights proponents, community providers, peer supporters, policymakers and pioneers to resolutely promote personal rights and recovery and foster the highest quality community services and supports!

Topic Categories:

• Foundations of Peer Support
• Mental Health, Substance Use & Whole Health
• Systems Navigation & Integration
• Equity, Inclusion & Cultural Responsiveness
• Person-Centered Services and Supports
• Workforce Development & Leadership
• Advocacy, Policy & Systems Change
• Innovation & Emerging Practices
• Sustainability & Organizational Health
• Personal Growth, Recovery & Lived Experience
• Practice-Based Skill Building

Submit Proposals Using this Link:

The post Alliance’s 44th Annual Conference: Submit Workshop Proposals Today! appeared first on The Alliance for Rights and Recovery.

While accountability in public programs is important, these claims continue to be made with little credible evidence, and in some cases, have been outright wrong.

Most notably, the administration recently misrepresented data on ����������’s Medicaid program, claiming that 5 million enrollees were receiving personal care services. In reality, the number was closer to 450,000, a massive discrepancy that raises serious concerns about the accuracy and integrity of the analysis being used to justify these actions. When such flawed data is used to allege fraud, it not only undermines trust but puts critical services at risk.

This matters because these narratives are not happening in a vacuum. They are being used to support policies that could restrict access to services, impose burdensome requirements, and justify deep cuts to Medicaid, one of the most vital sources of health coverage in the country.

At a time when millions rely on Medicaid for mental health services, substance use treatment, primary care, and long-term supports, we cannot allow misinformation to drive policy decisions.

It is critical that states push back strongly against these unfounded claims and defend the integrity of their programs. Protecting Medicaid means protecting access to services, especially for people with mental health and substance use challenges, people with disabilities, and communities already facing systemic barriers to healthcare.

The stakes are too high to let faulty data and political narratives erode the foundation of our healthcare system.

The Alliance for Rights and Recovery will continue to:

• Monitor these developments closely
• Share timely updates and analysis
• Provide opportunities for advocates to take action and make their voices heard

Now more than ever, we must stay informed, push back against misinformation, and work together to ensure that everyone has access to the services and coverage they need.

Oz Unveils Nationwide Plan to Tackle Medicaid Fraud at POLITICO Summit
By Amanda Chu | Politico | April 21, 2026

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz is taking his fraudbusting effort to all 50 states.

At POLITICO’s Health Care Summit on Tuesday, Oz unveiled a nationwide plan to crack down on alleged Medicaid fraud, announcing his agency will require all states this week to submit a plan within 30 days on how they will revalidate Medicaid providers.

“We’re asking the states to own that problem… red and blue, all of them,” said Oz, a medical doctor who popularized his moniker, Dr. Oz, when he was a TV show host. As CMS administrator, Oz oversees the nation’s largest health insurance programs.

“If you don’t take it seriously, it indicates to us that we might have to take the audits… more aggressively,” he added.

Oz’s comments arrive as the Trump administration and Congress  in an effort to blunt Democratic attacks on health care affordability ahead of the November midterm elections. Democrats are expected to leverage soaring Obamacare premiums and the more than $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts enacted in Trump’s domestic policy package last year against their GOP counterparts on the campaign trail.

In his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump declared a “war on fraud” and put Vice President JD Vance in charge of the effort. Oz, the high-profile face of the campaign, has released a string of viral videos in recent weeks highlighting his agency’s crackdowns and launched probes mostly in Democratic-led states.

So far, Oz has sent letters to California, Florida, Maine and ���������� alleging fraud in their Medicaid programs. Last month, CMS  submitted by Minnesota to combat Medicaid fraud after threatening a $2 billion cut to future Medicaid payments to the state due to noncompliance.

But Oz suffered a major setback earlier this month when his agency admitted that an error in its analysis of fraud in ����������’s Medicaid program grossly overstated the number of enrollees with personal care services, according to . Oz had claimed that ���������� had provided 5 million Medicaid enrollees with personal care services, but the real number was around 450,000.

At Tuesday’s summit, Oz defended the administration’s fraud-busting efforts and cuts to Medicaid, calling the upcoming work requirements a “beautiful tool” to help able-bodied Americans reenter the U.S. workforce.

“I love Medicaid. I cannot say that more fervently, and when you love something, you protect it. You don’t let it get defrauded,” he said.

Oz also dismissed Democratic concerns that the loss of enhanced Obamacare subsidies, which expired at the end of December, have left millions of Americans uninsured. A  released by CMS in January for 2026 Obamacare coverage found that signups this year declined by 1.2 million from last year to 22.9 million, a 5 percent drop.

“We didn’t see the mass departure off of the system,” said Oz. “Democrats are making this into a political football because they want to blame something on the Republicans on health care.”

Seattle , a Democrat on the House Budget Committee, rejected the premise that combatting fraud required health care spending cuts, at POLITICO’s summit Tuesday morning.

“Americans don’t want to be called fraudsters. To take away core benefits that people desperately need in order to crack down on some small group of people, that’s not what Americans want,” she said.

The post Faulty Claims and Real Risks: Why States Must Push Back on Medicaid Attacks! appeared first on The Alliance for Rights and Recovery.

PUBLIC MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

Date: April 22, 2026
Time: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Location: Empire State Plaza, Meeting Room 6, Albany, NY

To register to attend this meeting online, please register at:��

1:00 pm:  Welcome and Member Introductions

• Meeting call to order��
• MISCC OCDO, agency member and public member introductions��

1:10 pm:  Updates from the OCDO

• Olmstead Plan
• DREAM 2026 & 2025 Survey
• ADA Celebration 2026
• World Cup events

1:15 pm: NYS Office for People With Developmental Disabilities 

• Supported Decision Making������

1:30 pm: CMS letter

• Megan Baldwin, Deputy Secretary for Health

1:45 pm: DreamLink 

• Presentation by Alan Gallagher

2:00 pm: Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness 

• Follow up on new DHSES team focused on emergency preparedness for people with disabilities��

2:30 pm: Public Comment Period

3:00 pm: Adjourn Meeting

Next MISCC Meetings
June 24, 2026, September 30, 2026, December 9, 2026

___________________________________________________________________________________

• �ѱ���������±�������ٱ�:��
• Empire State Plaza Map:��
• Parking��at the Plaza:��
• Dining at the Plaza:��

The post Tomorrow’s 1-3 pm NYS Most Integrated Setting Coordinating Council (MISCC) Meeting appeared first on The Alliance for Rights and Recovery.

UPDATE: THE YONKERS SESSIONS WILL TAKE PLACE ON ZOOM DUE TO UNFORESEEN VENUE CIRCUMSTANCES

The registration links for the virtual sessions are below.
YONKERS ZOOM REGISTRATION LINKS:
������������ ���������������������������� ������April 21, 2026
������ ������������������ April 22, 2026

NOTICE:

·���������� IF YOU HAVE ALREADY REGISTERED, YOU DO NOT NEED TO RE-REGISTER. YOU WILL RECEIVE A LINK TO JOIN THE SESSION
·���������� THE SESSIONS ARE ONLY OPEN TO RESIDENTS OF THE HUDSON RIVER REGION.

THE TROY SESSIONS WILL PROCEED AS PLANNED.
TROY REGISTRATION LINK:

The post READ NOW! OMH April 22-22 Yonkers Community Engagement Sessions moved to Zoom appeared first on The Alliance for Rights and Recovery.

Update: The Yonkers sessions will take place on Zoom due to unforeseen venue circumstances

New registration links:

If you have already registered, you do not need to re-register. you will receive a link to join the session.
The sessions are only open to residents of the Hudson River Region.

The Troy sessions will proceed as planned.
Troy registration link:

The post IMPORTANT UPDATE: OMH’s Yonkers Community Engagement Sessions Moved to Zoom appeared first on The Alliance for Rights and Recovery.

The Alliance for Rights and Recovery, in partnership with national mental health and substance use advocates, is proud to co-host an upcoming Congressional Briefing: “Strengthening Mental Health and Substance Use Services Nationwide”

When: Friday, May 15, 2026, 9:00 – 10:30 AM

Where: Rayburn Building, Washington, DC

This important briefing, sponsored by the Congressional Addiction Treatment and Recovery Caucus, will bring together leaders and advocates from across the country to highlight the current state of mental health and substance use services and the urgent need to strengthen community-based supports.

Together, we will provide Members of Congress and their staff with a real-world perspective on:

• What is currently working in mental health and substance use services
• Where critical gaps remain
• The federal actions needed to strengthen prevention, treatment, recovery, and long-term stability

The panel will feature voices representing mental health recovery, substance use services, youth, and families, offering a comprehensive view of how federal policy can better support individuals, families, and communities.

This is a critical opportunity to elevate the importance of community-based, recovery-oriented services and ensure federal policy reflects the needs of the people and communities we serve.

Please also see the attached flyers for additional details, and feel free to share this opportunity with your networks.

We hope you can join us for this important conversation!

Register here��to attend:��

The post Join Us for A Congressional Briefing on Strengthening Mental Health & Substance Use Services Nationwide! appeared first on The Alliance for Rights and Recovery.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Alliance Annual Conference

Our Alliance for Rights and Recovery is extremely pleased to invite proposals for our 44th Annual Conference, “Our Movement, Our Moment”, to be held September 23-25 at our new location at the Albany Marriot. We’ve created a newer, more accessible and modern environment because our movement is evolving—and the spaces where we gather must evolve with it.

At the same time, we will bring the same unmatched sense of power, purpose, discovery, healing, spirit, solidarity, and celebration that has made our widely acclaimed conference a beloved annual tradition across our state and nation for more than four decades.

Your presentation will uplift and inform recovery and rights proponents, community providers, peer supporters, policymakers and pioneers to resolutely promote personal rights and recovery and foster the highest quality community services and supports!

Topic Categories:

• Foundations of Peer Support
• Mental Health, Substance Use & Whole Health
• Systems Navigation & Integration
• Equity, Inclusion & Cultural Responsiveness
• Person-Centered Services and Supports
• Workforce Development & Leadership
• Advocacy, Policy & Systems Change
• Innovation & Emerging Practices
• Sustainability & Organizational Health
• Personal Growth, Recovery & Lived Experience
• Practice-Based Skill Building

Submit Proposals Using this Link:

The post Alliance’s 44th Annual Conference: Submit Workshop Proposals Today! appeared first on The Alliance for Rights and Recovery.

With 97 percent of participants remaining housed, nearly 90 percent avoiding hospitalization, and no arrests or incarcerations among those served, the STEPS program is demonstrating what is possible when we invest in thoughtful, community-based approaches that support individuals beyond periods of intensive support.

Programs like STEPS fill a critical and often overlooked gap in our system. Too often, individuals move from high-intensity services without the structured support needed to maintain stability. By focusing on safe transitions to lower levels of services while maintaining housing and clinical connections, STEPS is helping people move toward long-term recovery, independence, and full community inclusion.

This kind of work is essential. Recovery does not end when someone leaves intensive services. It requires ongoing support, continuity, and access to stable housing and community-based resources. Without these, individuals are at greater risk of cycling back into crisis, hospitalization, or involvement with other systems.

We strongly support efforts to expand programs like STEPS and ensure sustained investment in models that help people successfully transition through the continuum of services. Strengthening these pathways not only improves individual outcomes, but also helps build a more effective, efficient, and humane mental health system for all ����������ers.

ICL’s leadership in this space is a powerful example of what can be achieved when we invest in recovery-oriented, community-based solutions.

We also encourage organizations and others who are developing and implementing innovative programs to share their work with the broader community. The Alliance’s Annual Conference this September is an important opportunity to highlight effective models like STEPS. We invite providers, advocates, and partners to submit workshop proposals and help educate our community on the programs and practices that are making a difference across ����������.

Submit your Alliance Annual Conference proposal here:

STEPS Program Shows Promise in First Two Years
By Katelyn Cordero and Maya Kaufman | Politico | April 20, 2026

A pilot program designed to help ����������ers with serious mental illness transition out of intensive mental health programs shows promise in early results, according to the Institute for Community Living.

A report detailing the STEPS&�Բ�����;����Dz�������’s  shows that 97 percent of the individuals who went through the program remain housed. Roughly 89 percent avoided hospitalization, and none of the program participants were arrested or incarcerated while in the program.

The program works with individuals to transition from high-intensity care to lower levels of care, while ensuring that they have housing and the clinical oversight necessary to succeed.

“STEPS began as a pilot to close a critical gap in our mental health system. Our independent evaluation confirms that it is working,” Jody Rudin, president of the Institute for Community Living, said in a statement. “This is helping us address the mental health crisis that has played out on our streets.

Rudin noted that she would like to see the city expand the program in light of its early success. The ICL is calling on the city council to release $4.5 million in this year’s budget that was allocated to the program. They are also calling on the city to expand the program’s reach to more ����������ers who rely on the city’s intensive mental health services.

The group is looking to fill a gap in services for individuals who have stabilized during intensive treatment and need a steady off-ramp out of the system. According to the ICL, roughly 1300 people are on waitlists for behavioral health treatment

“As ���������� City continues to confront a visible mental health crisis, STEPS offers a proven, scalable solution that expands capacity, reduces costs, and protects some of the city’s residents with most acute needs,” Rudin said.

The post Supporting Transitions to Recovery and Community Inclusion! appeared first on The Alliance for Rights and Recovery.

The ���������� State Office of Mental Health recognizes April as Arab American Heritage Month. This is a time to celebrate the rich histories, cultures, and contributions of Arab Americans across ���������� State and the nation. We celebrate the diversity within Arab American communities and acknowledge the important role these communities play in shaping a more inclusive and vibrant society.

We recognize that Arab American individuals and families may experience unique barriers to care, including stigma, language access needs, and the impact of discrimination. Addressing these barriers is essential to promoting wellness and equitable outcomes. By fostering understanding, respect, and inclusion, we strengthen our collective ability to support mental health and wellbeing for all.

Resources

• works to support and empower the Arab Immigrant and Arab American community by helping them adjust to their new home and become active members of society.
• (Google Drive).
• Visit the OMH webpage for .

Office of Diversity and Inclusion
44 Holland Avenue, Albany NY 12229 | omh.ny.gov
518-473-4548 | OfficeDiversityInclusion@omh.ny.gov

The post OMH Recognizes April as Arab American Heritage Month appeared first on The Alliance for Rights and Recovery.

We particularly want to recognize the leadership of ���������� Lawyers for the Public Interest in advancing this work and helping to elevate rights-respecting approaches that center the voices and experiences of people most impacted by our current systems.

These models, many of which are led by peers, EMTs, and behavioral health professionals, show that crisis response can be rooted in support rather than force, and engagement rather than coercion. They reflect what people with lived experience and advocates have long called for: a system that prioritizes safety, trust, and human rights.

The success of these programs provides a clear path forward for localities, states, and the nation. We must heed these lessons and move away from systems that default to law enforcement, which too often escalate crises and lead to harm, particularly for Black communities and other communities of color.

Here in ����������, we have an opportunity to lead.

We must continue to expand crisis response pilot programs and ensure sustained investment in the Behavioral Health Crisis Technical Assistance Center to support communities in building effective, evidence-based alternatives. At the same time, we must pass Daniel’s Law and fully realize its vision of a statewide crisis response system that deploys trained teams of peers and emergency medical professionals as the primary responders.

To make this a reality, the Alliance continues to call for the inclusion of $15 million in this year’s final state budget to support Daniel’s Law initiatives and strengthen the crisis response infrastructure across ����������.

Transforming crisis response is not just a policy choice. It is a moral imperative. The models exist, the evidence is clear, and communities are ready. Now we must ensure the investment and political will follow.

See the full report and see below for more information.

US: Rights-Respecting Approaches to Mental Health Crisis
By Human Rights Watch | March 30, 2026

(����������) – Communities throughout the country are developing alternative models of mental health crisis response , , and the  said in a report released today. These approaches are desperately needed as US , many of whom had documented mental health conditions, and as federal, state, and local jurisdictions seek to implement increasingly coercive approaches to mental health crisis response and treatment. 

The 66-page report, “,” identifies key elements of rights-respecting responses to mental health crises and explores how alternative mental health crisis response programs have carried out these approaches in practice. Many of these models share core elements, including promoting individual autonomy, providing voluntary support rather than mandating compliance, and avoiding unnecessary law enforcement involvement. 

“Having police as the primary or default responders to people experiencing mental health crises is ineffective and sometimes lethal, given their orientation toward force and compliance,” said , US program director at Human Rights Watch. “Fortunately, there are alternate approaches that emphasize personal autonomy and consent to treatment.”

Researchers studied over 150 crisis response programs from across the United States and feature eight that have committed to implement key aspects of supportive, rights-based mental health crisis response without police as primary or default responders. The researchers interviewed program administrators and, where possible, community members and advocates for unaffiliated perspectives on the programs. Researchers used international human rights law and standards as a tool for identifying key elements of rights-respecting programs. 

In many cases, police presence escalates mental health crises and results in coercion and violence. People with mental health conditions are particularly at risk to police violence and are much more likely to be killed during police encounters than people without a disability. This risk is especially true for Black people and other people of color with mental health conditions. Police often tend to approach people in crisis with commands and calls for compliance in situations when a more nuanced and supportive interaction that peers—those with lived mental health experience—and mental health workers can provide is needed. 

The eight programs featured in the report are based in communities around the United States. Some are connected to local government, while others operate independently. Their response teams differ in composition, though most include peers, social workers, emergency medical technicians or paramedics, and crisis intervention specialists. They typically respond on-site to the person experiencing a crisis, and provide a variety of services, including assessments, de-escalation, safety planning, crisis counseling, education, transportation, referrals to community resources, and follow-ups. 

The programs were developed with the recognition that police-centered mental health crisis responses have often led to violence and harm to the person in need of support. Black people and other people of color have been especially exposed to that violence and harm, due in part to existing structural racism in policing, mental health care, and more generally throughout society. 

Programs that emphasize non-coercive models and non-police responses seek to avoid that violence and provide more effective support for people experiencing crises by mobilizing and training peers and other professionals, steeped in the culture and communities they serve.

The metrics by which the programs were evaluated include eliminating police as primary or default responders, avoiding involuntary treatment, implementing a consent-centered approach to treatment, promoting participation of peers, providing trauma-informed and culturally responsive training, and maintaining a deep connection to the communities they serve. Researchers evaluated the programs’ commitment to providing accessible services, response times comparable with other emergency services, follow-up care, and minimization of power imbalances between service providers and those they support. 

“These programs serve as examples for how we can truly serve individuals and communities to make their own decisions through support and care,” said , senior staff attorney of the Disability Justice Program at ���������� Lawyers for the Public Interest.

While no one program purports to embrace or implement all these rights-respecting criteria, each program is oriented around at least some of them. Researchers did not evaluate outcomes and did not endorse any program’s particular model or approach to crisis response.

“As federal, state, and local governments move toward more coercive approaches to mental health crisis response, like involuntary commitments, hospitalizations, and forced medication, it is important to understand that programs honoring human rights do exist,” said , community engagement and communications manager at the Center for Racial and Disability Justice.

The post Advancing Rights-Respecting Crisis Response in ���������� and Nationwide! appeared first on The Alliance for Rights and Recovery.